On its own again following
Atlantis’ visit, the International Space Station is orbiting the Earth
in excellent health and is one step closer to becoming a permanent home
to astronauts and cosmonauts.

After Atlantis
departed a little more than a week ago, station flight controllers returned
to the routine of cycling the many electricity-generating batteries
to maintain their health. Also, controllers have already begun preparing
for Discovery’s visit to the station scheduled to begin with launch
from the Kennedy Space Center a week from now at 8:38 p.m. CDT on Oct.
5.

With no time to
spare in the processing of Discovery, managers okayed the inclusion
of additional electronics equipment for the batteries. Those components
include two charge-discharge units and one current converter. These
items will be stored aboard the station and will serve as extra inventory
in the event they are needed.

Carrying a mass
of almost 70 tons now, the ISS is nearly fully outfitted with all the
creature comforts required by the first expedition crew scheduled to
launch Oct. 30 atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Ahead of that, however, Discovery’s seven astronauts will deliver 25,000
pounds of external hardware that will be installed using the shuttle’s
robotic arm with final connections to be completed during four space
walks.

The STS-92 mission,
labeled 3A, will carry the Z1 Truss and a second shuttle docking port
that will be used for the first time on the next visit of a shuttle
in late November. The Z1 will add the capability for the station’s position
in space to be controlled by gyroscopes rather than propellant, and
deliver communications equipment that eventually will allow conversations,
data, voice and television to be transmitted through NASA’s Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite network.

As with all shuttle
visits to the station, controllers soon will begin turning on heaters
to begin warming up the Unity module in anticipation of the seven-member
crew's arrival. With a launch on Thursday, Atlantis is scheduled to
dock with the station at about 3:30 p.m. CDT on Oct. 7.

Now in an average
orbit 236 statute miles (380 km), the 70-ton, 143-foot long International
Space Station can easily be seen from the ground under proper lighting
conditions. To see when the station is visible, check the human space
flight website at:

The next Mission
Control Center status report will be issued following the launch of
Discovery on Oct. 5. or as events warrant. For more information, call
the Johnson Space Center Newsroom at 281/483-5111.

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